Precise wind energy potential assessment is vital for wind energy generation and planning and development of new wind power plants. This work proposes and evaluates a novel two-stage method for location-specific wind energy potential assessment. It combines accurate statistical modelling of annual wind direction distribution in a given location with supervised machine learning of efficient estimators that can approximate energy efficiency coefficients from the parameters of optimized statistical wind direction models. The statistical models are optimized using differential evolution and energy efficiency is approximated by evolutionary fuzzy rules.
The present study was aimed to evaluate the mechanisms involved in the vasorelaxant effects of red wine polyphenol compounds (RWPC) in small mesenteric rat arteries. RWPC produce relaxation in small mesenteric arteries. This relaxant effect was abolished by endothelial denudation, NO-synthase blockade with L-NAME and partial depolarization with KCl or L-NAME plus KCl. Incubation with the reactive oxygen species scavenger, superoxide dismutase (SOD) plus catalase, or inhibition of NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases with diphenyleneiodonium also inhibited RWPC induced vascular relaxation. Application of RWPC elicited a transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC), which was attenuated by a mixture of SOD and catalase. Incubation of BAEC with RWPC increased the SOD inhibitable production of O2-. These results suggest the involvement of O2- in the [Ca2+]i increase evoked by RWPC, leading to the activation of enzymes involved in the release of endothelial relaxant factors and subsequent vasodilatation of resistance arteries.
The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that short-winged (brachypterous) and long-winged (macropterous) adult males of a flightless bug Pyrrhocoris apterus differ in fertilization success. For this purpose, 5, 10 and 28 days old brachypterous and macropterous males were mated for the same period of time with reproductively active 5 days old brachypterous females. The average hatchability of five egg batches of these females was used as a measure of the fertilization success of the males. The results revealed significantly higher hatchability of the eggs laid by females that copulated with 5 or 10 days old brachypterous males than with same-aged macropterous males. In contrast, the average hatchability of eggs of females that copulated with 28 days old brachypterous males was significantly lower than of those mated with same-aged macropterous males. It is the first report of wing morph- and age-related differences in fertilization success of males in insects with a non-functional wing-polymorphism. The possible relationship between wing- and age-related differential fertilization and the mating success of P. apterus males, and differences in the amount of secretion transferred from their accessory glands into the reproductive tract of females during copulation, is discussed.
In Thailand, Anopheles (Cellia) epiroticus Linton et Harbach (Diptera: Culicidae) is the secondary vector of human malaria along coastal regions. While there are some studies of phenotypic variability and population structure of A. epiroticus, more information on morphological variation would enhance epidemiological understanding of medically important mosquito vectors. This research examined morphological variation at three different distances from coastlines of Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand, using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. Wing shape of A. epiroticus was significantly different in the area 0.2 km away from the sea compared to areas 2 and 4 km away from the sea (p < 0.05). Phenotypic variability in wing shape is associated with distance from the sea. Morphological variations in the area closest to the sea were most pronounced, showing a relationship between A. epiroticus and the ecosystem that affects wing geometry. These results provide important information to understand morphological variation of A. epiroticus in coastal areas., Tanawat Chaiphongpachara and Sedthapong Laojun., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Patterns of daily activity and the factors affecting it were studied in an invading Mediterranean population of American mink, Neovison vison, radiotracked in the northeast of Spain during the post breeding season (winter – half year). We distinguished between local activity, defined as active behaviour without spatial displacement, locomotion activity as active locomotion behaviour while foraging or travelling, and inactivity. We studied the effect of sex, age, daylight (nocturnal or diurnal), month, river flow and average rainfall on the activity of eight males and three females. Male mink presented more locomotion activity than females and subadult mink had more locomotion activity than adult mink. Average rainfall per day had a negative effect on locomotion, while daylight had no effect on either total activity or locomotion activity. Studied mink spent most of their time inactive in-den. These results are accordance with the patterns of activity shown by other native and invasive populations.